Grave Danger, Love's Embrace
by Sassy and Giggles
Summary: UPDATED AND FINISHED! SPOILER ALERT! Season Five of CSI, Two Part Season Finale "Grave Danger". What starts out as a routine "garbage" run for CSI Nick Stokes quickly turns into a race against time for his friends, and girlfriend, to save his life.
1. Part One of Two

_Authoresses' Notes: Hi, everyone! After a bit of a hiatus, Sassy and Giggles are back writing CSI/CSI: Miami stories. Let's hear a "w00t, w00t". Jokin'. Anyway, both of us love the Fifth Season Two-Part Finale, "Grave Danger", of CSI and we got to thinking: How would our OCs react to the situation? So, "Grave Danger, Love's Embrace" was embedded in our brains, wouldn't stop bothering us, and, after much tweaking, typed to what you see before you today. This is Part One of Two, because we wanted to stay true to the Episode and the Episode was in Two Parts; we'll post Part Two in two days, 'cause we wanna see what people think of Part One first. So, please, Enjoy, Read, and it would be very much appreciated if you Reviewed, too! _

_Disclaimer: No, unfortunately Sassy and Giggles do not claim ownership of anything related to the "CSI" franchise; that right belongs exclusively to Anthony E. Zuiker. They do own Carmen Jones, Fleur Bouchard, and any other characters mentioned herein that are unfamiliar to the Franchise._

_Summary: SPOILER ALERT! Season Five of CSI, Two Part Season Finale "Grave Danger". What starts out as a routine "garbage" run for CSI Nick Stokes quickly turns into a race against time for his friends, and girlfriend, to save his life. Rated T, to be safe._

CSI: Grave Danger, Love's Embrace

Part One of Two:

Crime Scene Investigator Nick Stokes paused in his strides to the bag he'd spotted by the fire hydrant when he heard his cellular phone ring. Without looking at the Caller ID, he answered, "Stokes."

"_My fire, _mon Amour_? Always,_" the voice on the other end of the phone brought a smile to his face.

"What're you doing up so late, Flowergirl?" He lightly teased her, as he continued his short trek to the bagged cup.

"_Missing you, of course,_" Fleur Bouchard, one of two Wards of Lieutenant Horatio Caine of the Miami-Dade Crime Lab and Nick's girlfriend, replied easily.

"Fleur? What's wrong?" Nick detected something in her tone that set alarms off in his head.

"_I… I don't know, Nick,_" she confessed. "_I've been trying to sleep, but, for some reason, I can't. It's like a massive dose of caffeine was introduced into my system; I'm wide awake and jittery. And, before you even ask, no I haven't had any coffee or soda or anything with more caffeine than some cocoa. I just got an urge to call you; I'm sorry if I caught you at work, again. It's, what? Eleven something there?_"

"And past two in the morning in Miami, Sunshine," he reminded her. "Don't you have class first thing, for your Forensics courses?"

"_I know, I know. I just had to call you, Cowboy. I guess I'll let you get back to work, Nikko; I love you._"

"If you want to talk while I work, that's fine, Sunshine," Nick knelt down next to the fire hydrant. "And I love you, too, my Naughty Nurse."

She laughed, "_Still don't know why, but I believe you._"

"Huh."

"_Nick? What is it?_"

"This is weird. Wh -" Nick was abruptly cut off as he was grabbed from behind and something that smelt of ether was placed over his mouth and nostrils; on the other end, his girlfriend heard the slight struggle and began to panic.

"_Nick? Nicholas? Are you alright? What's going on over there?_" The last thing Fleur heard was the sound of a body being dragged away with heavy footsteps.

))) Meanwhile in Miami, Florida… (((

A young woman slowly hung up the phone she held, before she redialled; this time a different number. "_Grissom._"

"Gil?" The twenty-five year old woman ran a shaking hand through her thick red hair.

"_Fleur Bouchard? To what do I owe the pleasure of this call?_"

"I think something's wrong with Nick, Gil," she felt it best to get to the heart of the matter.

"_What do you mean, you think something's wrong with Nick, Fleur?_" Grissom was puzzled. "_He's down at the cross of Flamingo and Koval, doing a garbage run. According to Catherine, he lost a coin toss to Warrick._"

"I don't know where he is, but that's not the problem, Sir." Fleur then quickly explained her conversation with her boyfriend and what she heard over the phone, adding, "Nick isn't the type to play such a cruel joke, Gil. I'm worried; would you be able to send someone to see what's going on and let me know?"

"_Of course, my dear. You're right, Nick isn't the type to pull such a cruel joke, especially since he knows how much you worry about him. I'll give you a call as soon as I know. What number did you want me to call you at?_"

"You can call me on my cell," Fleur gave him her cellular number. "Thanks, Gil; I really appreciate this."

"_It's no problem; I'll be in contact with you as soon as I know something, Fleur. You have my word._"

With those parting words, the two hung up.

_Please, Lord… Please let Nick be okay…_ Fleur prayed as she exited her room and went into the Living Room of the Penthouse Suite she shared with her best friend, Carmen Jones, and their shared Guardian since they were ten, Horatio Caine. She sat down at the grand piano her Godfather had had installed several years before into the Living Room, playing mindlessly. She came to about fifteen minutes later when a cup of tea was set in front of her by a freckled hand, which belonged to her Godfather.

"What's wrong, Sweetheart?" Horatio's concerned jade eyes expertly took in his Goddaughter's pale face and the slightly torn skin on her top lip from where she'd been biting it in worry.

"Something's wrong with Nick, Uncle Hooray," Fleur gave him the same rundown she'd given to Grissom just twenty minutes before.

"Fleur, Sweetheart, maybe he just dropped his phone?" Horatio tried to stay calm for her, but she heard the concern in his voice.

"I hope so, Uncle… I hope so…" Fleur leaned into his embrace as he wrapped an arm around her, sitting beside her on the piano bench.

Nearly thirty more minutes past before her cell phone let out a gentle tinkle, signalling an incoming call. Glancing quickly at the number, she answered, "Gil?"

"_Fleur? I'm sorry, but somehow Nick was kidnapped from the Scene; the attending Officer left the Scene, and Nick, unsupervised and there's signs of a struggle. We're doing our best to find some leads, but it's slow going because some Evidence isn't matching up,_" Grissom answered.

"I'll be down as soon as possible, Gil; thanks for letting me know," she replied, trying to keep her tears at bay.

"_If anyone deserves to know, you do, my dear. I'll keep you posted. Please, give me a call when you land; I'll send a car._"

"I will," Fleur promised, hanging up and replacing it into the pocket of her dressing gown.

"Go get dressed; I'll see about getting you on the next plane to Vegas, Sweetheart," Horatio urged as he stood up and drew her back to her feet.

Swallowing thickly, Fleur nodded and, as she entered her room, closed her door; she re-emerged several minutes later with her hair thrown back into a ponytail, dressed in snug dark-wash jeans and a violet t-shirt. Walking into the kitchen, she found her best friend talking quietly on the phone.

Carmen held up a single finger and motioned for her friend to sit down at the table. She nodded, "We will. Thanks again, Dad. Love you, too; bye." Hanging up the phone, she turned to the distraught redhead and, pulling her friend into her arms, explained, "Uncle Horatio let me know what's going on. I'm coming with you; there's no way in Hell you're going to go through this alone."

"Why were you on the phone with your dad?" Fleur asked quietly, squeezing her friend tightly before she reluctantly pulled out of the embrace.

"I was talking to him about getting a flight to Vegas; Dad's going to call ahead, so by the time we get to the airport there'll be a plane ready for a non-stop flight. We should be in Vegas within six hours or so."

"Thank you," Fleur blinked back tears as she choked on a sob, grasping her best friend's hands in hers.

Nearly seven and a half hours later found the two women landing at the Las Vegas International Airport with a familiar face waiting for them at the Gate. "Fleur, Carmen, hey," Warrick Brown stepped forward, hugging Fleur back when she launched herself into his arms, shaking. "He's still alive, Babe; he's still alive…" He soothed her, rubbing her back in small circles.

"Is there any news?" Carmen asked quietly, following their friend as he led the two women out to his SUV.

"Yeah, a package came a few hours ago; around midnight," Warrick was hesitant but, as he drove, he filled the two women in on what was in the package.

"Oh, _Merde_," Fleur whispered to herself. "Nick has Taphophobia; combined with being stuck in there for several hours already, I wouldn't be surprised if he also becomes Claustrophobic."

"The fear of being buried alive and the fear of small, enclosed spaces," Warrick breathed, swearing under his breath. "His parents have both already arrived; they got in around three-thirty this morning. Somehow, Catherine managed to get the million we need and Grissom went on the drop about forty minutes ago. Before you guys got off the plane, I got a call to report to the Scene of the Drop Off - the guy blew himself up."

"How the Hell are we supposed to find Nick, then?" Carmen asked desperately.

"We think outside the box, Car; we'll find him. Warrick, whatever you guys need, coffee, whatever, we'll do it," Fleur spoke with a quiet determination.

They drove in silence for nearly fifteen minutes before he broke the silence,

"How close are you guys to being Certified?"

"We help Uncle Horatio and his Team around the Lab as Assistant Techs, when we're not doing our Intern Nursing and Student Teaching," Carmen replied. "We're evaluated and Credited by whoever we're working with."

"Good; we can use that," he glanced at them from out of the corner of his eye as he drove. "It's all hands on deck right now; did you two sleep at all on the plane here?"

"Carmen had something slipped into my tea; I got about six hours," Fleur answered without hesitation.

"I got five or so. I figured you might need a fresh set of eyes," Carmen added.

))) Nearly twelve hours have past… (((

"Nick's here," Sara Sidle ran back into the room, jabbing her finger onto the "X" closest to the door.

"Let's go, everyone; all hands on deck," Grissom responded immediately.

"We're coming with you," Fleur and Carmen followed them and the others nodded.

"Carma, you're riding with me," Greg Saunders took Carmen's hand and Carmen willingly followed her boyfriend to his vehicle.

"Fleur, I'd like you to ride with me," Grissom spoke up just as Warrick opened his mouth to lay the same claim.

"Alright," Fleur followed her boyfriend's Supervisor out to his own SUV.

When they were a few minutes into the drive with the vehicle's sirens blazing, Grissom asked her, "Fleur, how are you holding up?"

"About the same as you, I expect," she replied carefully. "I just… I want Nick home. I already called my Godfather to let him know I'll be staying in Vegas for as long as it takes to help Nick recover and he has Marisol on the plane right now, with some changes of clothes and money for me. He's also speaking to my Professors to see if he can have my school work emailed to me."

"Don't you dare blame yourself, Fleur Sonja. This guy was out for blood and if it hadn't been Nick, it would've been another CSI. We'll get him out. If it hadn't been for you calling him at just the right time, we may not have even noticed him missing for several hours," Grissom was firm.

"If it hadn't been for my calling at exactly the wrong time, he would've been more aware of his surroundings; so, yes, Gil, I blame myself," she answered coolly.

After that, Fleur more or less zoned for the rest of the twenty minute drive, coming to when Grissom parked and was speaking to the crowd of Law Enforcement, directing them to look for any loose dirt.

Fleur was partnered with Catherine; the two of them had sensors that were looking for the signal from the webcam that had been used to assure themselves that Nick was still alive. "I've got a signal," Catherine hollered.

"We've found the signal!" Fleur announced as loudly as she could; despite her lack of height, she was quite loud when the need arose.

The entire crowd raced after Catherine and Fleur; Fleur let out a yelp when she tripped over something that covered the ground and her sensor went soaring out of her grip. "Fleur? Are you alright?" Catherine backtracked a few feet to check on the petite redhead.

"Yeah, I just tripped - a pipe!" Fleur gaped when she shone her flashlight to the object she'd tripped over and discovered a thin pipe sticking out of the ground.

"Fleur, I think you've found it!" Catherine became excited at the prospect. Dropping to her knees, she dug a bit and came away with a plastic bag that covered the router that had been sending the signal. "This is it! We've found it!" She screamed over at the others and, within a minute, the majority of the searchers were there with shovels.

"It's here! We've found it, this is it!"

"Nick! Nick, we're here!" Catherine hollered down the pipe as Fleur busied herself with grabbing a shovel from a nearby Officer and began shovelling away as much as she could, as quick as she could; she was joined by Warrick, along with two other male Officers and they began digging at a fast pace as the others held flashlights. "We're here, Nicky; we're gonna get you out."

"Hang in there, Nick; hang in there…" Fleur murmured to herself as the others watched, helpless. Warrick's watch beeped, signalling they were, more or less, out of time. The two shared a frightened look and continued working at a more feverish pace.

"I've hit something!" Warrick exclaimed as his shovel made a "thunk"ing sound.

"We've got ya, Nicky!" Catherine called down to him with the hope that he could hear.

"Ditto," she breathed as her shovel made an identical sound; not paying any mind to the dirt that was gathering in her hair and on her clothes, she knelt and brushed as much as she could off with her bare hands.

"Go get the fire extinguisher," Grissom called and Greg took off at a dead run as Warrick joined Fleur on her hands and knees.

"C'mon, Nicky; we're almost there…" Warrick muttered. They managed to clear off a foot-by-foot square and saw Nick with the gun pointed at his jaw. "Hey, hey! Put that thing down, Nicky!"

"Nikko, don't! Don't do it, _Mon Amour_!" Fleur screamed, frantically clearing off as much as she could as she saw Nick give Warrick a blank look and his finger moved on the trigger, "Please, please, don't leave me, Nicholas… please…" She was sobbing as she and Warrick cleared off the last bit of the Plexiglas coffin.

"We got you, we're gonna get you out, Nicky," Warrick promised; he may as well not even have spoken, as Nick's gaze was locked on the filthy form of his frantic girlfriend and the gun was lowered to his side and released. "Get me that fire extinguisher, Greg!" He grabbed his shovel again and used it to pry open the top, allowing just enough room for Greg to shoot the pressurized Carbon Dioxide in through.

"Short bursts, Greg; don't suffocate him," Grissom instructed, offering Fleur his hand and helping her out of the hole, Nick's eyes following her every move. "That's a good girl," he complimented her as he half-wrapped an arm around her shoulders, even as she watched in fixation while Greg and Warrick were working to kill the Fire Ants that were eating her boyfriend alive; Nick was forced to shut his eyes and clamp his mouth even tighter as the concentrated Carbon Dioxide from the fire extinguisher invaded his coffin.

"Hang on, Buddy; hang on. We've almost got you outta there," Warrick spoke assuringly to his friend.

"Get the Paramedics," Sara shouted over her shoulder.

"We're on it," Carmen and an Officer took off running for the main road to flag down the approaching ambulance.

"Hang on; hang on. We're gonna kill those ants, okay?" Warrick kept speaking to his friend as three Officers jumped down to help pry part of the top off.

"This should do it," Greg responded, firing several more short bursts into the coffin.

Catherine looked at her phone as it began ringing. "Willows."

"_Yeah, hey, Boss,_" David Hodges replied.

"We've got him, Hodges; we've got Nick. We're getting him out, now."

"_That's great. Wait, wait; don't hang up, just listen._"

"What? What is it?"

"_Those dimples on the bottom of the prototype… GCMS found traces of Semtex on each one of the dimples, on the underside of the box, attached to a pressure switch._"

"You've gotta be kidding me…" Catherine breathed, hanging up after a moment.

"One… two… thre -" Warrick and Greg are about to lift the top off of the coffin with several others, including Detective Captain Jim Brass.

"Everyone out of the hole!" Catherine raced over, "The box is rigged to explode!"

"Are you kidding?" Brass exclaimed, getting out of the hole along with the others, minus Warrick.

"Now!"

"I'm not leaving without Nick," Warrick retorted.

"There are charges under the box, attached to a pressure switch. Get out of there, now!"

"Here, take her," Grissom handed the now stiffened form of Fleur to Brass.

"I'm not leavin' here without him," Warrick choked back his tears.

"Warrick, Catherine's right; get out of the hole, now. I know what we're gonna do," Grissom ordered. "Just trust me."

Reluctantly, and looking like it physically pained him to do so, Warrick climbed out of the hole; as soon as Warrick left his sightline, along with Fleur being ushered through the queue of Law Enforcement, Nick began to panic and pound on the lid, screaming, "Don't leave! Don't leave me!"

"We need two hundred pounds of dirt over here, right now; and we're gonna use that Back-hoe to get it," Grissom pointed to the machine behind him and people raced to get the required materials. Hearing Nick's scream turned more terrified, Grissom jumped into the hole, brushing the light dusting of dirt away, "Nick! Can you hear me? It's gonna take us a minute to get you out of there, okay? Nick!"

Nick didn't seem to hear him and continued pounding on the lid frantically, moaning something that sounded to Grissom like, "Fleur… no… no…"

Grissom thought quickly, hearing the sounds of Fleur struggling against several Officers as they tried to drag her away from the area; he winced when one Officer's voice went high-pitched with pain. "Pancho!"

Nick froze up; however Grissom was unsure whether it was because of the use of his father's name for him or if Fleur, who slid down into the hole looking the worse for wear, was the reason. "Listen to me!" Grissom said sharply, "Put your hand on Fleur's hand."

Nick slowly began to calm as he placed his hand underneath his girlfriend's where she was bracing herself against falling. "Good, Nikko; _tres bon, mon Cow-boy_," Fleur praised, tears in her eyes as she gazed down in his.

"Good. Now, listen: there may be explosives underneath the box. We think they're set on pressure switches," Grissom lectured, trying not to alarm his friend. Nick's head banged on the bottom of the coffin, a defeated look on his face.

"Nicholas, Gil has an idea to get you out, but you **have** to listen closely to what he's saying, alright?" Fleur soothed, trying to convey calm to her trapped boyfriend.

Nick nodded and Grissom continued, "We need to equalize you body weight, so we can pull you out, okay? Pancho, nod your head if you can understand me." Nick nodded again, hope coming back to his dark brown eyes as his Supervisor continued, addressing the others watching, "Okay, we're going to use the dirt from the Back-hoe to equalize his weight; somebody get me some rope and a carabineer to lift him out." His instructions given, Grissom turned back to the trapped CSI, "Alright, Pancho; we're gonna open the lid and get you out. But we need you to stay lying down, okay? Or else you'll blow us all up."

"Nick, please; nod if you understand what he's saying," Fleur pleaded; Nick's half-closed eyes opened wider and he gave her a desolate look as he nodded.

"Do you promise?"

When Nick didn't answer, Fleur spoke harshly, her tears flowing past her defences, "Nick; in order for this to work, we need your promise… I need your promise."

"Pancho, do you promise?" He repeated; this time he got a desperate nod and a shout,

"I promise. I promise, Gris…"

They heard Catherine shouting as she led the Back-hoe to them. "We're getting you out, Nicky; don't move," Grissom cautioned as he, Warrick, and Fleur worked together to pry the lid off.

"Three, two, one; heave," Warrick counted; with a unified grunt, the three lifted the top off and threw it aside.

Grissom had to grab Fleur's waist quickly as, sobbing, she and Nick's hands found each other and hung on desperately. "_J'taime, Nikko._ I love you, so much," firmly anchored by Grissom's hold on her, she leant over and lightly brushed a kiss to his blistered lips. "Just sit tight, Cowboy."

"Oh, God… I love you… I love you…" Nick sobbed, tightly gripping her hand as she pulled back a bit, leaning somewhat into Grissom; both were so focused on Nick, that they didn't notice Sara's displeased look at their position.

"We gotcha, Nicky; we gotcha," Warrick assured, rubbing his friend's leg soothingly. "It's gonna be okay, Buddy…"

"Alright, bring that over," Grissom called over his shoulder and the Hoe driver carefully drove it over.

_To be continued in Part Two…_

_Authoresses' Notes: Part One of Two, uploaded. Hopefully, everyone likes it; I hope you at least Enjoyed Reading it. Please, if you did, or even if you didn't, we would appreciate you leaving a Review. We, at the very least, had fun writing it._

_For those people who are following our other story "Unknown Relations" which is in the CSI: Miami section, but Nick and Greg make appearances in there, we're working on Revising it; as for the timeline, we figure that it takes place about three to four years after this story. _

_The duo of Sassy and Giggles accept the "Three C's": Comments, Compliments, and Constructive Criticism. Good, bad, or in-between, it doesn't matter to us. Thanks to those who R&R!_

_- Sassy and Giggles_


	2. Part Two of Two

_Authoresses' Notes: Hey, everyone! Sassy and Giggles have returned with the second part of "Grave Danger, Love's Embrace". First off, though, we'd like to thank csinumb3rstlk lover and JMMendiola for adding GD,LE to their Story Alerts; we're glad you wanted to know when it updates, because that shows interest in the Story. _

_Part One focused a lot on Sassy's OC, Fleur Bouchard, and how she was dealing with her boyfriend's disappearance and Part Two is focussing more on Giggles' OC, Carmen Jones, and how she's dealing with everything. So, without further ado, we give to you… Part Two! Please, Read, Review, and Enjoy!_

_Disclaimer: No, unfortunately Sassy and Giggles do not claim ownership of anything related to the "CSI" franchise; that right belongs exclusively to Anthony E. Zuiker. They do own Carmen Jones, Fleur Bouchard, and any other characters mentioned herein that are unfamiliar to the Franchise._

_Chapter Summary: SPOILER ALERT! The Vegas CSIs, and their two Miamian friends found Nick at the Nursery, thanks to Grissom's knowledge of the bug world. Reunited, how are the CSIs and their friends going to deal with the Aftermath?_

Part Two of Two:

"Three, two, one; heave," Warrick counted; with a unified grunt, the three lifted the top off and threw it aside.

Grissom had to grab Fleur's waist quickly as, sobbing, she and Nick's hands found each other and hung on desperately. "_J'taime, Nikko._ I love you, so much," firmly anchored by Grissom's hold on her, she leant over and lightly brushed a kiss to his blistered lips. "Just sit tight, Cowboy."

"Oh, God… I love you… I love you…" Nick sobbed, tightly gripping her hand as she pulled back a bit, leaning somewhat into Grissom; both were so focused on Nick, that they didn't notice Sara's displeased look at their position.

"We gotcha, Nicky; we gotcha," Warrick assured, rubbing his friend's leg soothingly. "It's gonna be okay, Buddy…"

"Alright, bring that over," Grissom called over his shoulder and the Hoe driver carefully drove it over.

"Nick, listen to me, okay?" Fleur spoke softly, trying to get a handle on herself. "I need you to hold your breath, and close your eyes; when you open them, you'll be out of here. Alright?"

Nick nodded, squeezing her hand one last time, brushing a light kiss over her bruised knuckles, before he released her and she was helped out of the hole by Greg, who pulled her over to the line of people that had a hold on the rope that Grissom was hooking onto his belt.

"Okay, Pancho; get ready," Grissom warned, taking a hold of the rope in behind Fleur. Obediently, Nick closed his eyes tightly and held his breath. "Now!"

As soon as the dirt was dumped, the group pulled back sharply and Nick came flying up from under the dirt, propelled by the blast that took place a mere moment after he left the confines he'd been stuck in for twenty hours. "Sh, it's alright, now…" Fleur was the first person to recover; she shook the debris off of herself and, ignoring the sting of the scrapes she'd gotten that night, hurried to Nick's side and knelt, taking his head gently into her lap. She ran a shaking hand through his hair, cooing at him as he stirred slightly and looked upwards and directly into her darkened hazel eyes, "We found you… we found you…"

"Stay with me?" He whispered hoarsely, clasping the hand that sat on his shoulder in his own, "My Beautiful Guardian Angel…" He was convulsing slightly, which she knew was an after-effect of the prolonged exposure to the Fire Ants.

"Always, _Mon Amour_… always and forever," she murmured, leaning down and pressing a kiss to his forehead before she stilled and allowed the Paramedics to load him onto a stretcher. He kept a tight grip on her hand, afraid if he let go that she'd disappear and she did the same; turning to Grissom, she spoke in a voice that, despite its slight shakiness, brooked no argument, "I'm going with him to the Hospital in the Ambulance, Gil."

"Of course," he smiled, relief evident in his features.

"I'll come with you," Catherine spoke up, stepping up into the Ambulance after Fleur got in and re-clasped Nick's hand in her own. "We'll see you at the Hospital, Gil."

Grissom nodded, "We'll meet you there," he promised. When the Ambulance pulled away, he turned to Conrad Ecklie and informed him, "I want my guys back."

)) Slight POV Change ((

As the Paramedics loaded Nick into the Ambulance and it roared away, Greg realized that Carmen hadn't come back with the Officer when they went to flag down the Ambulance. "Gris, have you seen Carmen?" Greg tried not to worry, telling himself that he'd just missed his girlfriend's return.

Grissom frowned, concern creeping back into his aged, but still handsome, features. "No; I haven't. Sara, Warrick?"

"No, Officer Davids came back, but Carmen hasn't. You don't think something happened to her, too?" Sara bit her lip, worried.

Warrick shook his head, clapping his friend on the shoulder. "The last two days've taken their toll on everyone, man. Maybe she just needed a few minutes to re-collect herself?"

"She has been focusing on helping Fleur through this entire ordeal," Grissom nodded in agreement. "Why don't you go look for her, Greg? The three of us can handle the Scene ourselves."

"Thanks," Greg gave them a fleeting smile before he took off, frantically trying not to think about what might've befallen the intelligent brunette. He scoured the area, using his skills to decipher what direction his wayward girlfriend had taken with the Uniform, as Fleur often referred to the Officers as. "Maybe… maybe she's waiting at the SUV?" With this new hope, he raced past curious Officers as he headed straight towards where the CSI Team had left their vehicles.

Coming up on his SUV, he spotted a wisp of curly light brown hair behind the back fender. "Carmen, Babe?" He slowly crept his way around the parked vehicle and found a troubling sight: his girlfriend was slouched on the ground with her arms wrapped around her curled up legs, rocking backwards and forwards in what should've been a soothing motion; however this seemed to make her crumble more as the moments past, her face wet but no longer spilling tears. "Carma?" When she flinched violently, looking at him with a deer caught in the headlights look, his heart broke for her; she'd spent the last two days taking care of not only her broken best friend, but the entire Team and none of them had thought about how she had been holding up.

Greg could only stand there, his heart breaking more with each moment those swimming jade eyes stared at him as he became more and more unsure as to what to do; he'd been to many Crime Scenes with much more disturbing visuals, yet this was terrifying him as nothing else had yet. Something about the seemingly delicate woman he was proud to call his girlfriend breaking down in front of him made everything he learned about handling victims obsolete and meaningless.

"… Greg…" She whispered brokenly; this whisper caused something in him to click into place and he realized that, for the first time in the entirety of their relationship, that instead of it being him in desperate need of her, Carmen needed him.

Taking a deep, steadying breath, Greg moved so that he was no longer standing a few feet in front of her and sat down next to his hysterical girlfriend. "I'm here… it's gonna be okay, Babe," he soothed, wrapping his arms around her shaking shoulders and drew her to him so she was partially across his chest.

He rocked them side-to-side in a calming motion, ignoring Carmen who, despite melting into his tender embrace, kept murmuring, "I'm sorry… I'm sorry…" into his neck.

Instead, he made soothing sounds, whispering to her frequently, "It's okay… stop apologizing… Nick's gonna be fine…"

The broken woman, usually teeming with passion, was only a fragile shell and kept shaking her head and repeating herself; Greg couldn't help but compare her to a broken record, stuck on repeat and immediately felt contrite.

After a while, Carmen quieted, breathing in his scent and taking in his voice as he took to humming in an attempt to soothe her. She startled to find that she liked this new, sweetly soothing side of her boyfriend compared to his usual goofy and witty demeanour. As a rule, when she thought of her boyfriend, she thought of an adorable, fun-loving, rubber-glove-on-head, monster-mask-and-goggles wearing boy stuck in a man's body who often paired with her usually mischievous best friend to prank unsuspecting friends and enemies alike. Greg hadn't noticed that she'd come out of her trance-like breakdown state and dropped a kiss on her head, softly telling her, "I got you, Babe. We'll get through this together 'cause I love you too much to let you do it yourself."

"I love you, too, Greg," she sighed, her voice raw from her crying; a little smile crept onto her face momentarily when he let out a startled yelp and tumbled to the side with her still clinging to him.

His startled brown eyes took in her appearance, relief evident when he realized that she was, once again, in the present: her jade eyes were blood-shot and, like everyone else on the Team, rimmed in dark circles, with her mascara streaked from her tears, and her blotchy cheeks were so red that he thought they'd make Santa Clause's look carnation pink. Despite this, he still felt she was the most beautiful woman he had the pleasure to see. They just laid like that, her on his chest with her face inches away from his, for a minute that seemed to stretch for an eternity as they stared into their lover's eyes; her jade eyes seemed to dance and sparkle as the thought that their friend was going to be alright while his eyes devoured her own hungrily, thankful that she came back to him.

With a sigh, Carmen broke their eyes contact and sagged against his strong form with her face buried in his neck; after a few moments, she felt one of his arms wrap itself around her waist to rest lightly on the back of her dirty jeans while his other made itself a home cupping her neck. "Greg?" She lifted her head a bit and made eye contact once again, seeing his eyes over-flowing with relief and love, and allowed herself to be guided into a gentle kiss. She had a momentary flash of surprise, but smiled lightly into the kiss and held as tightly onto him as he was onto her. She thought it was the stress of the last few days, but she could have sworn that she felt every emotion he poured into that one kiss and deemed it "their" kiss: his desperation, relief, concern, anger, and, most of all, his over-whelming love for her.

She drew him closer into her, and he invited her advancement as neither thought of how inappropriately they were acting in public. Greg imagined that, through their kiss, he could feel her every thought, and each emotion that pounded through her: her concern for their friends, relief that Nick was going to be alright, her pain and grief over the entirety of the situation, and all of the heat of the love she held for him. They continued this, drawing the support of their significant other, their Life Force, and relished in the connection they held. After several eternal minutes, they pulled apart and stayed wrapped in each other.

Breathing equally as heavily as he was, Carmen spoke with a slight giggle, "Thanks, Greg; I… I needed that, I needed you, and you came." Realization of the fact that they just made out heavily behind his CSI vehicle caused a dark flush to blossom across her cheeks and, realizing the same thing she did, Greg began to laugh heartily as she giggled helplessly. After a few moments of this, they quieted. "We should get back; the others will be worried."

"Yeah," he nodded, smiling softly at her as he wriggled them to a sitting position, just as his cellphone rang. "Hello?" He answered it.

"_Greg, it's Grissom; we're just wrapping up the Scene,_" Grissom replied. "_Were you able to find Carmen?_"

"Yeah; she was having a few moments to herself by the cars, Gris," Greg brushed a hand through his spiky hair, wrinkling his nose when dust fell from it and Carmen was hard-pressed not to giggle at him as they listened to Grissom repeating his words to Warrick and Sarah. "She's okay now; we were just about to head back to mine to grab a shower and then we're heading to the Hospital to see Nick. Catherine or Fleur call yet?" He asked cautiously with a glance at his watch and gaped at the fact that over an hour had past in seemingly minutes.

"_Fleur called Warrick when neither you nor Carmen answered your phones,_" there was a dryly humorous note to Grissom's voice as he answered. "_Nick's going to be fine; very sore for quite awhile with the bites he acquired, but he's in a room resting right now. She was quite worried for you two, however._"

"We'll text her on the way. How's she doing?" Carmen took the phone from her boyfriend, causing him to playfully growl at her; he didn't realize that his growl gave her an idea.

"_Exhausted. Catherine took the phone from her and told us that she was having a Paramedic take a look at her. Fleur wasn't happy about it, according to the shouts we heard in the background with her insisting that she was fine. I'm sending Sara and Warrick home, as well, and Sara's going to take a change of clothes to Fleur so she can get out of hers before she goes to sleep._"

"Okay, thanks Gris. We'll see you later?"

"_Of course; Ecklie wants a meeting in ten hours of all of the Crime Lab staff to go over the entirety of the ordeal,_" Grissom agreed. "_My advice would be to get some sleep while you still can… but I know you won't._"

"Nah; I'm too wired. Later, Boss," Greg hung up and with a sigh, got up off of the ground; he extended a hand to his girlfriend who couldn't help but smile at him as he gently helped her to her feet before he led her to the passenger side and opened the door for her.

"Thanks, Greg," Carmen quietly told him.

"No problem, Babe," he gave her a grin and, despite the grime and the dirt and the shadows under his eyes, she saw the "spiky blonde haired Casanova", as Fleur laughingly called him often, she fell in love with four years ago.

"Ooh, Greggy, before I forget, do you think we could stop off at that Arts and Crafts store on the way?" She spoke up as he started his vehicle; her eyes were on the screen of her cellphone which she'd left on the seat as she texted her best friend to let her know that they'd see her in a bit.

"Yeah, sure; why?" Greg kept his eyes on the barren road and jerked the wheel to the left, but quickly corrected himself when his girlfriend answered with a coy tone,

"'Cause, if we cut the fun short, we'd have enough time to make monster masks, so we can scare the Hospital Staff and give Fleur and Nick a laugh," she hid a smirk at the uncharacteristicness of her tone and her sentence; it was more something her best friend was wont to say, especially with the flirtatious tone. When he stared at her, completely speechless, she demurely pointed out, "Sweetie, eyes on the road, please."

"Where did **that** come from?" Greg turned his eyes back to the road, much to her relief, but eyed her from the corner of his eyes, "Did you hit your head, Babe? You **hate** it when Fleur and I play pranks like that."

She grinned, "Let's just say I had some… hot… inspiration." She giggled when he stomped on the breaks and got out of the SUV, walking around to her side and opening her door.

"Get in the driver's side; if you keep channelling Fleur like that, I'll end up crashing," he told her matter-of-factly, causing her to giggle deviously as she slid over to the driver's side and, waiting for him to get into the passenger's seat, began driving again with a wink at him.

"Someone's gotta be crazy, Sweetie," Carmen replied mischievously; she stopped at an intersection and, leaning over, pecked him quickly on the lips before she continued driving as he looked at her like she was his Rubik Cube.

"Weird. But, I think I might like this new side of you, Sexy," she flushed when he said this, as she'd been worried that his silence meant she'd said something wrong. "Mm… Monster Mash, here we come!" He grinned when his girlfriend's laughter filled the vehicle.

Meanwhile, in the Hospital, Nick was resting when Catherine entered the small room the Hospital Staff had secured a resistant Fleur in. "Fleur, Honey, you know better than that," she scolded lightly; she was, of course, referring to what could only be described as Fleur's temper-tantrum not even twenty minutes before.

"I'm sorry, Cath," Fleur averted her hazel eyes and allowed her matted red hair to hide her ashamed face from her friend's view.

Catherine sighed, sitting down beside the younger redhead and, gently pushing her hair back, replied, "Fleur, I know you're sorry; you don't have to apologize. I expect that you'll be staying with Nick for a bit, until he's healed enough to come back to work?"

"Of course," Fleur nodded solemnly, "I don't know what came over me, honest, Catherine, but I think it was the fact that the last time I let Nick out of my sights… He was kidnapped a few days later."

"I understand, Honey, I do; but you've gotta stop blaming yourself," at her friend's sharp, frightened look, Catherine gave a little smile, "Gil's not the only one to have caught onto your self-blame. It wasn't your fault. What **will **be your fault is Nick blaming himself if he was to hear about how his girlfriend neglected herself while she took care of everyone else."

"You wouldn't!"

"I would; and if I don't, I'm sure his mother or father will…"

"… they would, too," Fleur sighed, burying her face into her bruised hands.

"It's only because we love you, Sweetpea," the two redheads looked up to see Judge Bill Stokes filling the doorway. "Now, if you agree and co-operate with the Nurses, includin' gettin' cleaned up, we'll make sure that another bed will be put into Nicholas' room for you."

"You would?" The young woman's face lit up as she rose on slightly shaky legs and walked to the older man, embracing him, "But, how? It's completely against regulation."

"Don't you worry none, Sweetpea; you forget the Missus and I argue for a livin'," he chuckled, kissing her forehead. "Now, go get yourself cleaned up and we'll see you in a bit, alright? Run along now, Blossom." He ushered her out of the door and into a waiting Nurse's hold; when she was gone from sight, he turned to Catherine with gratefulness in his dark eyes, "Ms. Willows, I can't thank you enough for takin' care of our Blossom; goodness only knows what my Son would do if somethin' were to happen to her."

Catherine smiled at him, "It goes both ways, Judge Stokes; the only thing that kept Fleur going was the hope and determination that we'd find him. They're good for each other."

Several days later found a more-or-less healed Nick and Fleur in the visitation room of the Las Vegas Women's Penitentiary. "Are you sure about doing this, Nick?"

"As sure as I am that I love you," he answered, lightly brushing a kiss across her lips. "It's just… something that I have to do, you know?"

"I understand," she nodded in acceptance and stood against the side as he went over and sat in front of Kelly Gordon.

"You're the one?" Kelly asked, cutting straight to the chase.

"Mmhm, yeah." He cleared his throat, "Yeah; back atcha."

After a few moments of silence, she spoke, "What do you want me to say? That I'm sorry?"

"Nah, you didn't do anything to me; your dad did, but you didn't. And, I think, your dad did what he did just 'cause he love ya so much." Annoyed, Kelly hung up the phone and Nick gestured for her to pick it back up again. "Hey, Kelly; Kelly. Pick it up," he choked out. "Pick it back up."

"She your wife?" Kelly nodded over at the short redheaded woman who was eying her with a promise of pain in her eyes.

"No; girlfriend, actually. Someday, I hope she'll be my wife, though," he gave a throaty chuckle. He cleared his throat again, "In a few years, when you get outta here? Don't take it with ya."

"That's it?" Kelly questioned after another charged silence, trying to keep the emotion out of her voice.

"Yeah, yeah."

She stoically hung up and told the Officer, "We're done here."

Just before she exited the area, Kelly turned around and witnessed the short redhead walk over to where the CSI was still sitting, kneel at his side and, turning him to face herself, gently wiped away his tears as she said something to him; whatever she said brought a slight smile to his face and he grasped her hands in his, bringing them up to his lips to kiss both of them. Together the two stood, him helping her back up, and left the Penitentiary with their hands linked together. When she got back to her cell, Kelly sat on her slab with her pillow clutched to her chest as she thought about what the CSI had said…

**Don****'t take it with you.**

_Finite._

_Authoresses' Notes: Well, there's another completed story in our "Relations" CSI/CSI: Miami universe. The Story was actually longer, but Sassy and Giggles cut out a number of scenes, to make it flow smoother for the Reader. We will be posting a "Cut/Extended Scenes of Grave Danger, Love's Embrace" fic in a bit, which will contain all of the Scenes that didn't make the final cut or that we had to shorten. _

_We hope everyone enjoyed reading GD,LE as much as we enjoyed writing it; as said in Part One, "Grave Danger Part One and Two" are two of our favourite Episodes, at the same time as being two of our most hated. Everytime we watch it, even though we know it backwards and forwards, we keep being terrified that the CSIs wouldn't find Nick in time. That's what makes it such a great episode!_

_Oh, and we'd really appreciate anyone who Alerts/Favourites us or our Stories to leave just, even if it's one sentence long, a short Review to tell us WHAT you like about our Stories; it'd be really helpful to know what we're doing right and what we can improve on. Thanks!_

_The duo of Sassy and Giggles accept the "Three C's": Comments, Compliments, and Constructive Criticism. Good, bad, or in-between, it doesn't matter to us. Thanks to those who R&R!_

_- Sassy and Giggles_


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